League of Legends Reveals Vel’Koz, Reworks Skarner and Xerath

Naysayers claiming Riot Games doesn’t care about the “monster” heroes will have to seal their lips this week as League of Legends is getting a heaping helping of tentacle monster on the public beta environment just in time for Valentine’s Day.

Vel’Koz has been announced as the first void creature in eons, and offers up some hefty ranged harass ideal for tearing apart (rather literally) enemies from a safe distance. What he gains in raw power though, he lacks in speed, so players will need to maneuver carefully or be dissected before they ever get their void lasers firing.

Vel’Koz’s Kit looks as follows:Passive: Organic Deconstruction

Vel’Koz’s abilities Deconstruct those they strike. After being hit three times by his abilities, minions, monsters and enemy champions are Deconstructed and suffer bonus true damage. Enemies lose their Deconstruction stacks by avoiding Vel’Koz’s attacks for a short while.

Q: Plasma Fission

Vel’Koz fires a plasma bolt that slows and damages the first enemy struck. Once Plasma Fission hits, reaches its maximum range or is reactivated a second time, the bolt splits at a 90 degree angle. The split bolts deal the same damage and apply the same slow.

W: Void Rift

Vel’Koz sends out a straight line blast that tears open a temporary rift to the Void before exploding. Both the initial tear and the delayed explosion damage and apply Deconstruction stacks to caught enemies.

E: Tectonic Disruption

After a brief delay Vel’Koz disrupts a nearby area, damaging and launching all enemies caught into the air. Enemies hit that are close to Vel’Koz are also knocked back slightly.

R: Life Form Disintegration Ray

Vel’Koz channels a ray of infinite energy that follows the cursor for a brief while, damaging, slowing and Deconstructing all enemies in range.

The monster madness doesn’t end here as Xerath and Skarner are also receiving reworks that, while not entirely ground breaking, will certainly improve the overall fluidity of their kit. The details of the reworks can be found here and the full backstory of Vel’Koz here.